Kobe Bryant Every Bit As Useless As His Lawyers Predicted In Trademark Opposition
from the mamba-mumble dept
Late last year, we wrote about a fairly strange case of a trademark opposition involving Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals and its Black Mamba HYPERRUSH line of diet pills, and Kobe Bryant and his Black Mamba line of being a basketball player. The whole thing was both messy and rather pointless. Pointless because the pharma market and anything Kobe Bryant is involved in are quite divergent marketplaces, making the trademark opposition fairly pointless. And, yet, it's been going on for years. Messy, because the timelines are not particularly in Bryant's favor, given that Hi-Tech applied for its mark a year before Bryant applied for his, leading to Hi-Tech requesting to depose Bryant and get documents from him detailing exactly how he came up with his nickname. Bryant's lawyers rebutted the request by suggesting that deposing Bryant would be like deposing Lil Wayne, because the present is a farce we're all somehow forced to live through.
Instead, Bryant's lawyers insisted he answer only written questions, all while warning that Bryant's answers would probably be entirely useless. They predicted that Bryant wouldn't recall the answers to the questions Hi-Tech would want to ask, which is more than a little odd, given that this all centers around how he came up with his now-famous nickname. But, give credit where credit is due: Hi-Tech is now complaining that Bryant has been every bit as useless as his lawyers predicted.
The pharma company says they fired off a list of questions they wanted to be answered by Kobe and certain documents they requested him to turn over. The company claims that Kobe has given evasive or incomplete answers and refused to turn over everything based on “unreasonable objections.”
Hi-Tech argues they cannot prepare for the upcoming trial if Kobe does not hand over the docs ASAP.
They want answers on how he came up with the nickname “Black Mama,” saying their research shows he has given different answers over the years. They allege Kobe has once said it was based on the species of snake but also claimed it was because of the film “Kill Bill,” which had a character named “Black Mamba.”
The pharma company is demanding Kobe turn over all documents and communications concerning his use of the name in business and records of any products sold under the mark.
It's worth keeping in mind that Kobe Bryant is the one that issued the opposition to Hi-Tech's trademark application here, not the other way around. And, again, the timing of each party's application doesn't serve to bolster Bryant's side of things. Given that the nickname is the center of this conflict, the questions that Hi-Tech is asking aren't exactly unreasonable. And the company sure seems to think Bryant has answers or documents that are going to be good for its case.
A case which, again, is of an opposition that never should have happened. Kobe Bryant does not make drugs or diet pills. Nothing about Hi-Tech's branding suggests there is any involvement by Bryant. Other athletes, in fact, have used the Black Mamba nickname. Maybe it's time for Bryant to drop this and move on.
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Filed Under: black mamba, kobe bryant, trademark
Companies: hi-tech pharamceuticals
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Black Mama should be Black Mamba?
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I think. I don't actually know who Kobe Bryant is.
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black mabma
Without being crude, like Kobe Bryant, I thought he was referring to his penis.
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A... novel defense, to be sure
'No really, our client is an idiot and you'll be wasting your time' is certainly an interesting objection to deposing your client, and one I wonder if said client knows his lawyers used and what that says about what they think about him?
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But without trademark law why would anyone ever buy pills again? Or play basketball? Or have dark skin?
Why doesn't Masnick stop trying to steal food from the mouths of babies?!
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All I know is that Black Mamas likely love Black Mambas. Not to speak of White Mamas. They love 'em even more; especially if they're on vacation without their boyfriends.
You're a whore, Illona, nothing but a whore and your momma too!!!
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Nickname, to me, is something others tag you with and sticks
I'd say the lawyers for both sides agree on that, just not out loud
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Re: A... novel defense, to be sure
They told him idiot means genius. First they told him idiot was a synonym for genius, but they eventually figured out he didn't know what that meant.
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Yup. How many boxers have been "Sugar Ray"? The nicknames get recycled, sometimes as an homage to a person previously "titled" with it, sometimes as snark.
And, come on, this is Kobe Bryant. My blender scored higher on the SAT's than he did....
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When is PETA going to step in here and speak for actual Black Mambas? The real travesty is that animals are being stripped of their rights to have names, and since PETA speaks for the animals, they should have a voice in this argument.
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If we let PETA step in to speak for the animals, then we'll have to find the Lorax and let it speak for the trees.
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What makes you think Bryant is dumb?
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So yall killed him? And gave us COID19 AKA Corona. Which is the name of the street his memorials on....Sneaky,Sneaky I see you.................
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Big Pharma assasinated him?
I am surprised all the conspiracy theorist are not blaming the Federal Government. Since every black person blames Trump for all their woes. If Big Pharma fcked up the helicopter will Black Lives Matter burn the Pharma down? Probably not because their over lords don’t care about a diet pill. It is not a substantial threat to their cartel.
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